The End of the Fluff...Onward Sew!

Friends, as I looked back over my blog for the last few months, I realize that I have been feeding you a lot of fluff.  Well...the fluff ends here.

Deadlines had been dragging me down.  First there was sewing cruise wear (which I didn't blog a whole lot of), and then I had to make a Frontiersman costume for my son, because apparently second grade research projects are intended to torture parents just as much as they do the kids.

Now, with a clean slate I feel like I can start to create again.

So without further ado, here is my latest sew or refashion as it may be.

This shirt is very typical of what you would see me wearing out and about during the warmer days of Spring and Summer.  I own a few RTW shirts in similar styles.  Would you call this a pillowcase tunic, maybe?

As I mentioned before this is a refashion.  Here is what I started out with.

When I saw this dress at the Salvation Army last Fall, I loved the print.  Purples and aquas are my favorite colors.  I also really liked the pin tuck detail on the front of the dress.  Throw in the fact that it was only 99 cents, and it was a no brainer.  I knew that I could do something with it.

So when I was looking for a refashion to get me out of my sewing slump, and I came across this in the pile, I knew it was just what I needed to get me out of my funk.

It took some seam ripping, and the removal of a zipper.

I also removed the sleeves, and cut seven inches off of the bottom of the dress.  I biased bound the new arm holes, and cut the shoulder seams out.  The collar edges were trimmed and serged, and then folded in an inch and sewn to create two tunnels for the tie fabric to thread through.

I finally used my rolled hem foot to create a rolled hem all the way around the bottom of the tunic.  I cut the tunic a little long because I suspect that I may belt it sometimes when I wear it, and I wanted to make sure there was enough ease there that everything that I want to keep covered stays that way.

Here are some more pictures of the tunic.  I really am pleased with it, and it makes me look forward to warm bright sunshiny days ahead.

I am completely in love with how the pin tucks added interest to this tunic.  They hug the bosom just right.  With the mix of colors and style of the tunic it is almost Bohemian meets Caribbean.

You don't tend to see a whole lot of plus size refashions online, but I hope that this one might encourage some of you to give refashioning a try.  This dress wasn't even my size (RTW 22 and I am easily a 24/26), but the print just made me feel happy, and the rayon that it is made of had a great hand, so I knew there was something great hiding inside!

Friends, I say head out, hit a thrift store, and come home and make something beautiful.  Am I the only plus size refashioner out there?